Armed aeroplane



Patnted Nov.

7, 1922. 3 SHEETSSHEEI I.

J. L. CATO.

ARMED AEROPLANE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20. 1918.

1 ,434,367. Patented Nov. 7, 1922.

J. L. CATO.

ARMED AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20. 1918.

1,434,367, I Patented Nov. 7, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHED 3.

Patented Nov. 7, 1922.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH L. CATO, OF ELMHURST, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB TO II-W-F ENGINEERINGCOMPANY INC., OF COLLEGE POINT, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OFMICHIGAN.

ARMED AEBOPLANE.

Application filed September 20, 1918. Serial No. 254,889.

To all whom it may come m:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. CATO, of Elmhurst, in the county of Queensand in the State of New York, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Armed Aeroplanes; and do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates particularly to aeroplanes equipped with rifles foruse in milita operations etc.

he object of my invention is to provide an aeroplane with a plurality ofrifles so arranged as to be protected as far as possible from damage byattacks from other aeroplanes, and 1n such a way that their presencecannot be readily discerned by observation, thus increasing theirefiective use. Another ob'ect is to locate one or more automatic ridesin the angles at the sides of a V-shaped motor.

Further objects of my invention will appear from the detaileddescription thereof contained hereinafter.

While my invention is capable of embodiment in many diflerent forms, forthe purpose of illustration I have shown only one orm of m invention inthe accompanying drawings, in which;

Fig. 1 is a dperspective view of an aeroplane equippe with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the forward part of the same, showingthe engine casing partly removed, and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the same taken directly from the frontthereof.

In the drawings, I have shown an aeroplane 1 which may be of any desiredconstruction, but which as shown in the drawings is of the biplane typehaving a single propeller 2 driven by an internal combustion engine 3having twelve cylinders 4 arranged in pairs in such a manner that thecylinders of each pair are at an angle to each other, that is to say, inthe form of a V. The cylinders 4 form at eitherside of the engine arecess between the same and a crank casing 5 rovided for the engine. Ateither side of t e engine there is an exhaust pipe 6, and above theengine there is aradiator 7 for the water cooling system. At the twosides of the engine in the recesses referred to, there are located apair of rapid firing automatic rifles 8 and 9 which may, if desired, beof the Browning type, and which are supported upon brackets 9 from thecrank casing 5. Above the engine 1 there may be a further pair of rifles10 and 11 of the same character which are supported upon brackets 11carried by the cylinders 4. All of these rifles 8, 9, l0 and 11 may befired merely by hand, or they may be synchronized with the propeller2 bybeing controlled from the shaft of the engine 3 in the usual manner, soas to fire only at the times when the propeller blades are not in frontof the muzzles of the rifles.

In the operation of my invention the rifles 8, 9, 10 and 11 will becaused to commence firing by the operator whenever desired, and wheneverthe triggers of the rifles are pressed by the operators, they willcontinue to fire until the ammunition has been entirely used up, andwhere the rifles are synchronized with the ropeller 2 they will onlyfire when the prope ler blades are not opposite to the muzzle of theparticular rifle firing. By locating the rifles 8 and 9 at the positionsgiven, they ,will be protected by the portions of the engine which arelocated adjacent thereto, and which form angles in which the rifles arelocated. Furthermore, the location of the rifles in this manner willprevent them from being observed by another aeroplane, except whenextremely close, and this will increase their effectiveness as the enemywill be taken unawares thereby.

While I have described my invention above in detail, I wish it to beunderstood that many changes may be made therein without departing fromthe spirit thereof.

I claim:

1. In combination, an internal combustion engine whose cross sectionwould disclose an angle formed by the cylinder and crank casing of theengine, and a rifle located adjacent to the side thereof within theangle.

2. An aeroplane comprising an internal combustion engine havin an angleformed by the cylinder and cran casing of the engine, and a riflelocated partially within said angle adjacent to the side of said engine.

3. In combination, an internal combustion formed by the cylinder andcrank casing of the engine.

5. An aeroplane comprising an internal combustion V-shaped engine, arifle located adjacent to the side thereof in an angle formed by thecylinder and crank casing of the engine, and a casing substantiallycovermg and concealing said rifle, but without marked departure fromtheform of casings customarily employed upon such aeroplanes as lackarmament.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

JOSEPH Li CATO.

Witnesses:

ALLAN S. ADAMS, H. L. Gama.

